The poem explores the role of a thurifer, a person who carries a censer used to burn incense during religious ceremonies. The speaker reflects on their own life and how it has been marked by the scent of incense, which they associate with reverence and worship. They consider the possibility that their life may have been defined by this one aspect, and that without it, they would be lost.
By Joyce Kilmer · First published 1914 · Genre: Poetry, Lyric, Religious